May 13, 2021
European courts have ruled out an order by the European Commission requiring Amazon to pay €250 million in back taxes to Luxembourg for so-called “illegal state aid.”
The case started after the European Commission concluded that Luxembourg had given undue tax advantages of around €250 million ($303 million) to Amazon following an investigation into Amazon’s tax arrangement in Luxembourg in 2014.
In its conclusion on the case, the General Court found that “The Commission did not prove to the requisite legal standard that there was an undue reduction of the tax burden of a European subsidiary of the Amazon group.”
In an email to NPR, Amazon said it welcomed the court’s ruling, “which is in line with our long-standing position that we followed all applicable laws and that Amazon received no special treatment. We’re pleased that the Court has made this clear, and we can continue to focus on delivering for our customers across Europe.”
For more information, read the original story in NPR.
